Conn. senator floats ammunition bill

Sen. Richard Blumenthal plans to introduce a bill to toughen requirements for purchasing ammunition — a response to the mass shooting last month that claimed 26 lives at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.

The bill from the Connecticut Democrat, who served as the state’s attorney general, would require retailers to use an FBI database to conduct background checks on anyone who buys bullets and report to law enforcement when someone purchases more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

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Background checks are currently only required for the sale of firearms.

“Ammunition is the black hole of gun violence prevention,” Blumenthal said on a conference call with reporters. “Felons, fugitives, domestic violence abusers, seriously mentally ill people — all are barred by law from buying ammunition and guns, but there are no checks for ammunition sales to enforce the law.”

The bill would also ban Teflon-coated bullets, which can pierce body armor.

Blumenthal said that his proposal was only one piece of a comprehensive strategy to curb gun violence, including renewing the ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines; closing a loophole that allows unlicensed sellers to sell weapons a gun shows without background checks; and provisions to make it tougher for the mentally ill to acquire guns.

In recent weeks, the first-term senator has been meeting with families of the victims of the Newtown tragedy and Senate colleagues to try to build support for the ammunition bill. He’s also recently pitched the idea to Vice President Job Biden, who is leading a White House task force to come up with recommendations on how to prevent future mass shootings.

The task force is charged with making recommendations before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

“I’m hopeful a sustained effort will help overcome what has been regarded as strong or difficult obstacles in the past,” Blumenthal said. “The political landscape is changing for the better. A common sense enforcement tool will have traction and success.”